The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-07-07
BILLIARDS WITH HIS NOSE.
Making Caroms and Cushion Shots
Without Using Cue or Fingers.

From, the Ne'c York Tribune.
"Then you never really heard of a mans
playing billiards with his nosem drawled a
mild-mannered gray haired expert from a
seat in a quiet corner of William Sexton's
big billiard room in Broadway. 1t isn't
often that the grave old man takes his eyes
off the game at the nearest table, but his
scraps of coaching were lost that night on
the two young men in dress coats who were
pounding the balls around Eeiter-Skelter.
So he turned sylnpatheticGlly to another
youth who hai just taken seat beside him
and was venting his feelings like this:
"Humph; think / could discount either of
them with one arm tied behind my back. ]
could beat 'em both with my nose, for that
matter, though never heard Of anybody
making cue of that"
"There's where you're way behind young
man." the expert drawled again. "But see
in as you know bad billiards when you see
'em, I'll just tell You about a game | ran
across last winter like that"
The young man smiled incredulously. He
thought at the worst it was going to be a
joke on some well-known billiard player,
perhaps on the renowned Sexton himself.
well, said the old man gathering him
self together, you know what finger bill
lizards are, to start with. 'Yank' Adams
used to play 'em all around, and people
thought they were wonder for awhile.
Now anybody can play 'em and beat the
cue every time 1t win be the same way
with these nose billiards I'm going to tell
you about before long
81 was a sittin' over i'll Maurice Days
room in Brooklyn one night, loollin' at Maui
rice do up some Spry young chaps that
thought they knew all about the game
Only one was left and it was getting toward
midnight when two big fellows that looked
like FOUNDERS, only not SO bad as that, came
in, and behind them short, small man with
Il broad red face and bloomin' big shiny
nose. When Maurice stopped the little man
got q cue and said he'd play anybody In the
house. The spry young fellow went at him
for a small stake and won. Then ne tried a
bigger one and won again. It was fifty
points up, three-ball game and the young
fellow had only five to go on the third string
when the shiny -noSed man threw down his
stick and said:
IF de shentlemans hav' no objeckshuns
l will play me alretty init mine nose
And he put his nose down sidewise
against the cue ball, squinted carefully
pushed and made long, hard carom. Then
picking the cue ball up, like Adams used tc
do, he placed it again, aimed, shot and made
a cushion. He didn't miss but once, either
until he had run the string away out
Maurice was so knocked out that he forgot
to collect the tariff on the table. The spry
young man had lost all he had made, and
more too. He quit right off for that night
The two big rounder- looking fellows gath
cred in their friend, whose nose was bleed
ing little, and. piloted him down and out
They said it was a little joke Of his when he
was on a lark. | never saw him after that
But that nose games been running in my
head ever since-the sort of game they'll
play in the next century, perhaps
''Ah, yes" added the young man admir-.
ingly, and what beautiful players some OF
the chosen tribe win make.n
Over at Maurice Days the next after
noon one of the markers could remember
family that some such extraordinary match
had taken place.
You mean Josh, guess. Kind of big.
nosed fellow that came in here one night
But he played with cue when | saw him
Yes, go down on Fulton avenue and you'll
run acrost him in one of the hotels.n
josh wasn't at any of the hotels, how,
ever. The hotels, of course, were mere beer
shops with a billiard room attachment But
a waiter at one of them had just seen him
go out
''Oh, yah, der funny man. wat play de
beelyard NIT his nose. JUS so. He play
hier often nit himself Tie der klein shticl,
NIT Elm shtring auf his nose9 Oh yah.
have him geSehen offen.n
GOSH" himself denied this last part OF
the big Germans story, when he was col
Jared at last under street awning near the
City Hall
"Well, yes, maybe | did and maybe ]
didn't play that game up at Mr.. Days. And
it may be just a Joke some of my friends is
playing on you. But never used any little
cue, if l played at all. This cues good
enough for me-" and the great billiaPdst
tapped his big branching, peach-blow nose
fondly
well, yes, play the game" he went on
''Im givin' you the straight tip now, young
Teller. My name is Josh Myers, and car
count with my nose faster than any anna.
teur can with his cue, and my friends has
got 500 to say l can i'll any hall in Brook.
lyn. This is the way learnt it. You see
used to keep billiard table fore | went
into the tobacco business, what I'm into
now. And one day anOld Frenchman came
along and he hired the table kind of quiet
and he played off there with his nose. And
| seen at first and thought it was all non
sense. But after the old man went away
said to myself that there must be somethin
into it, 50 tried once and kept on irwin till
l got the hang. 1t made my nose bleed al
first some and the tip of it red and sore, but
it's all hardened up now and ! tell you
don't need no chalk"
"Well, you've seen finger billiards
haven't you! It's the same game. / place
my cue ball near the object ball and then
hit with my nose to carom or cushion for
the other. | can't make draw shots, OF
course. And the follows are pretty hard
but the ordinary Englishes are nothin'. ]
can make an average of ten easy on three
ball game, and know thatll knock almost
any amateur. I've got hacker or two.
Any body that thinks he can lick me, OF
that I'm playing fake just let him come
on"
The great billiardist would not give an ex-
hibition, however. Like some other re-
doubtable champions, he Is saving his met
tie until the stakes are high.
freed a Yankee
From the Antericus (Ga.) Recorder.